The Other Curse
by XXforget-x-me-x-notXX
Summary: The Sohmas aren't the only ones that are cursed. -sorry I suck at titles and summaries!-
1. Chapter 1

**Random and slightly pointless introduction: **My first serious Fruits Basket fanfiction. Hope you like it!

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Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, Arisa, and Saki were all sitting together at lunch, like normal. Saki was being unusually quiet, but for a while, no one really noticed.

"I'm sensing very strange waves," Saki suddenly murmured. She was looking at the ground in front of her, clearly lost in thought.

"What do you mean?" Arisa asked.

"I've been sensing them for a while," Saki continued, her voice as soft and eerie as always. "They are so very similar to the strange waves of... the Sohmas..."

Yuki and Kyo turned their head in sudden interest. Tohru was looking increasingly flustered, almost as if Saki had mentioned the curse. "What the hell are you talking about?" Kyo asked.

She ignored Kyo completely. "So strange... They're different from the waves of Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure, but so, so similar... Almost as if they were connected. How mysterious."

Everyone looked at Saki for a few moments. She didn't ever say anything that explained her weird little rant, so they all just dismissed it as nothing important.

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Kyo was walking down the street, when suddenly his heart started beating faster and faster. He clutched onto his chest and wondered what was going on. He had to force himself not to wince. He looked up from his feet and saw someone.

It was a girl. She had long, soft black hair that went down to her waist. Her ebony bangs swept across her forehead and covered one eyes. Her eyelashes were very dark and very thick, and they were framing her one visible forest green sorrowful eye. Her waist was tiny and her legs and arms were thin. She was wearing a navy blue tube top and black skinny jeans. She looked like she was straight from a magazine.

He watch her pass him on the sidewalk and bit his lip in a panic. For some strange reason, Kyo felt like he had to talk to her. He felt an eerie connection flowing between the two of them. He tapped her shoulder, and quickly recoiled his hand when electricity suddenly snapped at his fingers.

She seemed to have felt it, too, and she spun around. She narrowed her visible eye. "What?"

"I need to talk to you," he murmured, pulling her into the closest alley.

"Okay, we're here, _what?" _the girl insisted. Her voice was soft and melodic.

"Didn't you feel it?" Kyo asked in an intense whisper.

"Feel what?" she replied coolly, but Kyo didn't miss the look of surprise that passed through her eyes.

"The bolt of electricity. The intensely fast heartbeat," he breathed out. "Didn't you feel the connection?"

"Is that supposed to be a pick-up line?" she asked, crossing her arms and raising one eyebrow. "Because I have to give you props, I've never heard that one before."

He sighed in exasperation. "No, it's not, and you know it. Did you or didn't you feel it?"

She looked away. "Does it matter?"

Kyo felt a rush of adrenaline and courage. He wrapped his arms around the girl, hugging her tightly. She stiffened, as if waiting for something to happen. Expecting something to happen. Nothing did.

Kyo backed away. "I don't believe it," he murmured.

"What just happened?" the girl breathed. She looked at herself, in shock and amazement. Then she looked up at Kyo. "Who are you?"

He put his hand out, still a bit dazed. "Kyo," he mumbled. "Who are you?"

She tentatively shook his hand. "I'm Katsumi..."

"It's weird, I don't feel like the curse broke..." Kyo said softly to himself.

Katsumi, having great ears, heard this. "The curse? You know about it?"

Kyo looked up and narrowed his eyes at her. "Depends. What curse are we talking about?"

Katsumi sighed. "I think you know, ginger. The Zodiac curse."

Kyo visibly winced. "Oh, _that _curse."

"What do you know about it?" Katsumi whispered.

"I'm in it," Kyo snapped, crossing his arms.

"Impossible," Katsumi replied. "I know every person that's cursed, and no animal is missing."

"How do you know you didn't forget any?" Kyo replied sharply.

"Again, impossible," Katsumi repeated, her eyes turning cold.

"I bet you forgot the cat," Kyo said.

"Ha! As if I could!" the green-eyed girl hesitated a moment. "I _am _the Cat."

"You can't be," Kyo responded.

"And why can't I?" she said with a vicious glare.

"Because _I'm _the Cat," Kyo said, raising his arm and revealing his bracelet.

Katsumi stiffened and slowly stuck out her own wrist. Kyo took a step back. Their bracelets were completely identical.

"That's... not... possible," Katsumi breathed, her bright green eye widening.

"My thoughts exactly," Kyo muttered, blinking repeatedly, as if Katsumi would disappear when he opened his eyes.

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Kisa was walking home from school, the wind swishing through her short hair, when suddenly, she felt a sharp, stinging pain in her heart. She stopped walking and her head pounded with an unbearable headache. A strange bond felt like it was pulling her toward someone...

A guy, probably approximately fourteen or fifteen, was walking down the street beside her. His eyes were a golden-brown color, and his hair looked strikingly similar to Kyo's, maybe a shade or two darker. He was fairly thin, but he has visible muscles, particularly on his arms. His skin was oddly pale, and he was very tall.

Kisa stared at him, wondering why she felt like she had to catch up to him before he was out of sight. Not able to stop herself any longer, she ran over to him and latched onto the sleeve of his pale gray hoodie. The guy jumped in surprise and turned to her. "Um... Hi," he said slowly.

Without a word, Kisa pulled him aside. "Hello," she murmured softly.

"What is it?" he asked clearly confused.

"I, um, I..." she said unsurely. She didn't really know how to say it. "I... felt like I.. had to talk to you..."

"Okay," he said gently, his amber eyes softening. "What did you want?"

"I'm... I'm not sure," she replied with a confused frown.

The guy rose one eyebrow. "Hmm..."

"Did you f-feel... like your heart hurt... or like you had a really bad headache...?" Kisa managed to stutter out.

"Well... Kind of," he admitted. "But what does that have to do with anything?" He brought his hand up and ran his fingers through his hair.

Kisa bit her lip. "I feel... A weird bond... Almost like the one in the cur-" She broke off and covered her mouth.

The boy's eyes widened. "In the what?"

Kisa blushed and silently scolded herself. "N-nothing..."

"You were about to say _curse, _weren't you?" He said with a suspicious look.

She looked at her feet and fiddled idly with her fingers. She knew it'd be useless to lie. She could somehow tell that he would see through it. "Yeah..." she mumbled.

"The..." he hesitated for a moment. "The _Zodiac _curse?"

Kisa stiffened and goosebumps covered her thin arms. "What do you know about it?"

"What do I know about it?" He repeated, raising one eyebrow. "I'm a part of it."

Kisa shook her head vigorously. "No, no, I know everyone that's a part of it."

"Clearly, you don't," he pointed out.

"Are y-you... not mentioned in the st-story or s-something?" she stuttered.

"No, I'm mentioned," he replied. "Now how do you know about the curse?"

She narrowed her eyes into slits. "I'm a part of it," she quoted him.

"Really," he said disbelievingly. "What animal?"

"The Tiger," she answered.

"What's your name?" he asked right after.

She paused in confusion for about 20 seconds, just staring at him with a bewildered gaze. "Kisa, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It doesn't. I'm Kichiro."

"...Okay?"

"I'm the Tiger," he said in a matter-of-fact monotone.

Kisa's eyes widened until they were almost twice their regular size. "Prove it."

Kichiro shrugged and put his arms around Kisa.

Nothing happened. Kisa gasped and pulled away quickly.

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Kagura was walking down a dirt trail in a forest when she saw someone ahead of her. She felt like she was being drawn to him. As if she had an inexplicable connection with this boy she'd never met before. She subconsciously quickened her pace until she was right behind him.

She covered his eyes with her hands and he jumped about an inch into the air. "Jesus Christ, Mahoro, you scared me!"

"Guess again!" she chirped, not entirely sure what she was doing.

"Uh... Katsumi?"

"Nope!" she replied. In a surge of confidence, she moved her arms down until she was hugging him from behind. To her surprise, nothing happened.

"Ryoko?" he guessed again, turning around to face her. He had messy dark brown hair, with bright orange tips. His eyes were the color of bittersweet and he had a small purple bruise on his cheek. He was fairly muscular, but not exactly a body-builder. His eyes widened and he yelped in surprised jumping away.

"Hi!" Kagura said happily, with a big smile.

"Why didn't I transform?" the boy said with a confused look shadowing his face.

"Oh, so I _do _have some sort of connection with you. But I thought I knew everyone who was cursed in the Zodiac," the brunette said, for some reason having no problems with giving away the big secret to a complete stranger.

"So did I!" he responded, clearly having the same thoughts. "What, are you like a secret member, sort of like the cat but... not?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Kagura giggled.

"Oh... Well, I'm the Boar," he said with a wide grin.

"Wait, how can you be the Boar? _I'm _the Boar!" Her thoughts were racing, and she was completely bewildered.

"Seriously? Weird." His eyes mirrored Kagura's emotions.

Kagura smiled, ignoring her confusion. "I'm Kagura!"

"Kogi," he said. He stuck out his hand and Kagura happily shook it.

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So what do think? Review please and tell me!


	2. Chapter 2

**Random and slightly pointless introduction: **Second chapter. Hope you like, please review ^^

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Katsumi tapped on the door gently, her heart pounding. Visiting Tomiko never was exactly fun, though this time she was unusually nervous. But it made sense, since the news she was going to deliver was fairly big. She wasn't exactly sure how Tomiko would take it, and it worried her.

The door creaked open and the petite girl Katsumi had come to visit was standing in front of her.

The nineteen-year-old Tomiko's shiny jet-black hair fell right above her shoulders, and as always, her too-long bangs that cascaded down her forehead were partially covering both of her extremely dark blue- almost black- eyes. She stood a few inches shorter that Katsumi, who was already on the short side and younger than Tomiko, but her height didn't stop Katsumi's heart from pounding against her ribs.

"Oh, Katsumi,what a surprise," Tomiko said in her smooth, always-soft voice that almost made Katsumi want to hold her breath so she could hear better. "What brings you here today?"

"Well, th-there... Kichiro, Kogi, and I... Maybe some others... We've being running into these people..." Katsumi struggled to speak. It was always like this when she met with Tomiko. She never exactly understood why. It was almost as if Tomiko had an intense effect on her, that was nearly controlling her.

"Hmm... What importance do these people have?" Tomiko purred. She brought a delicate hand up to her face and pulled a lock of hair behind her ear.

"They..." Katsumi didn't exactly know how to explain it.

"Out with it, sweetie, don't worry," she murmured in a patronizing voice. She put her hand on Katsumi's shoulder, and the taller girl visibly flinched. Tomiko just smiled. "I won't get mad, I promise. Do I ever get mad at you, Katsumi?"

Katsumi bit her lip. "There are other's that have our curse," she mumbled, deliberately keeping her gaze from meeting Tomiko's.

"I don't think I understand," Tomiko replied.

"Kogi, Kichiro, and I all met someone who was possessed by an animal of the Zodiac. They knew about the curse. And we were all hugged by them, and we didn't transform," Katsumi explained.

Tomiko pulled her hand off Katsumi, who relaxed a lot. "Find them for me again, Katsumi. I'd like to meet some of these, maybe meet their 'God.' Can you do that for me, Katsumi?"

Katsumi hesitated. "I can try, I don't know if I'll be able to find them again, though..."

Tomiko gave a small smile. "Oh, you'll be able to find that boy again. You said you felt a connection, an ache or something of that sort, when you passed him, right? Just wait for that bond-like feeling again."

Katsumi blinked in surprise. "I never said anything about a connec-"

Tomiko touched her index finger to Katsumi's lips and smile. "You can do that for me, can't you?"

"Yeah," Katsumi murmured.

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Tohru sat by a tree, reading. She'd normally be doing something productive, like cleaning, but Shigure insisted that she should go have some time to herself. So here she was. She wasn't exactly "reading," more just staring at the pages and daydreaming.

A voice shook her out of her thoughts. "What book?"

She jumped about an inch in the air and turned. A boy, probably about her age or older, was looking down at her, leaning against the tree, his arms crossed. He had black hair with dyed bright purple streaks that fell over one of his brown eyes.

Tohru blinked, not sure what to think or say. "Excuse me?" she said softly.

"What book are you reading?"

"Oh! Uh... I'm not entirely sure, I was spacing out a little bit," she answered, her cheeks flushing from embarrassment.

He laughed and stuck out his hand. "I'm Jiro," he introduced.

"I-I'm Tohru," she stuttered, tentatively reaching out to shake his hand.

He just laughed again. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna make a move on you or anything. I mean, you're cute, but I already have someone I like."

"Eh? Oh! Oh, no, no, no, it's not that- I-I just, I was..." she blurted out in a little bit of a panic that she might've insulted.

He grinned. "Calm down, calm down. I just came over here 'cause it's getting a bit dark and... Well, if you live nearby, maybe you'd let me walk you home. It's not very safe around here at night."

"I couldn't let you do that for me!" Tohru exclaimed, her cheeks turning bright red.

"It's not a problem, really, I have nothing better to do. Besides, it'd be better to let me walk you home then to go by yourself," Jiro pointed out.

"O-okay, if you're sure," Tohru mumbled.

They walked most of the way in silence, every once in a while saying something about how cold it was or how they hope spring comes soon.

Then they got to Shigure's house. Just as Tohru was about to turn and thank Jiro for being so considerate, the door was flung open. Kyo and Yuki stood there, arms crossed.

"Who's that guy?" Kyo said rudely.

Tohru's cheeks flushed again, and Jiro noticed how often that seems to happen to her. "W-well, Kyo, this is Jiro, he was nice enough to walk me home... It was getting dark and he offered, so..."

Kyo glared at Jiro with his piercing orange eyes. "Well, you're home now, so bye Jiro," he growled.

Jiro raised an eyebrow and gave a crooked smile. "Yeah, no need to thank me for bringing home your girlfriend instead of letting her walk by herself around the dangerous parts."

Yuki's arms dropped and he gave a small smile. "Thank you, Jiro."

"O-Oh, yes, thank you!" Tohru said, bowing her head slightly to the black-haired boy.

He shrugged as a response before walking away.

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Thanks for reading, please review!

And anyone wanna guess who Jiro is?


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